Modern Comedy Masterpiece or Absolute Trash? This Controversial Movie Comes to Hulu This Month and You Can Decide for Yourself

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Freddy Got Fingered will receive a remastered release as part of the Criterion Collection in the near future (it was streaming on their streaming service briefly in 2024). This sentence would read as farcical as anything in Tom Green‘s 2001 disasterpiece just a few years ago. However, like any critically reviled film upon release, the Canadian sketch comedian’s first and last directorial effort has been reclaimed as a cult classic and is now regarded as a gonzo masterpiece. There’s no denying the revolting nature of Freddy Got Fingered, and its crass humor has no intention of getting on anyone’s good side. One’s mileage may drastically vary, but the enduring power of Green’s black comedy is more than just a simple “so bad it’s good” appreciation. Even if you’re disgusted, you just have to hand it to Green—he somehow received major studio money for this insane work of art.

‘Freddy Got Fingered’ Was Critically Reviled Upon Release

Tom Green, known for his eponymous sketch comedy series airing in Canada and eventually on MTV from 1994-2000, was emblematic of the ironic and punk 1990s. His vulgar sensibilities, packaged in the form of outlandish and surrealist pranks, never made him a figure of critical adoration, and few people would have proudly boasted about being an avid consumer of his. By the time he received a budget to write and direct a feature film and distribution from 20th Century Fox in 2001, it appeared that we had let Green fly too close to the sun, as Freddy Got Fingered made his previous work look tame. The film follows Green as Gord, an immature slacker with ambitious dreams of getting his cartoons on the air. Gord receives comforting encouragement from his mother, Julie (Julie Hagerty), but his short-tempered blue-collar father, Jim (Rip Torn), frequently clashes with his son and insists that he grow up.

When reading the vitriolic reviews of Freddy Got Fingered, it’s hard to argue against any point. Roger Ebert, who was never shy about taking a moral stance against a film he decried, wrote in a zero-star review, “This movie doesn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel… This movie doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels.” Being the irreverent figure that he is, Green embraced the intense negative blowback, which included showing up at the Golden Raspberry Awards and personally accepting his five trophies, along with playing the harmonica on the red carpet.

Tom Green’s Unique Talents Were Realized on the Grandest Scale in ‘Freddy Got Fingered’

Tom Green’s status as an enfant terrible in the press is the key behind Freddy Got Fingered‘s stunning reappraisal all these years later. Suddenly, people were not appalled by the movie, but rather, because he was able to get this movie released to the mainstream public. If you’re watching anything produced by Green, you have to interpret it through an ironic lens. With that in mind, you have to commend the writer-director for creating something that feels like a fever dream. Every ten minutes, you’ll be saying to yourself, “I can’t believe he’s getting away with this.”

The most feverish element of the film is its title, referring to a false rumor spread by Gord about his younger and successful brother, Freddy (Eddie Kaye Thomas), which has nothing to do with the actual ludicrous plot until well over halfway through the runtime. Due to its irredeemable characters and grotesque set pieces, including ones on a farm and inside a hospital that sound implausible when described in words, Freddy Got Fingered seems designed not to be liked. On the flip side, the film’s grand scope and ambition are unfounded in nearly every comedy today.

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‘Freddy Got Fingered’ Is Pure Cinematic Punk Rock & One of the Most Important 2000s Comedies

Tom Green’s persona is a class clown, willing to do anything for a laugh, no matter how humiliating, debasing, or dangerous it might be.

However, the absurdist shock humor in the film is not rooted in hate, but rather, a test of sheer audience patience and a genuine act of experimentation, which speaks to its brilliance as a piece of anti-quality art. A claim that is usually reserved for arthouse provocateurs like Lars Von Trier and Michael Haneke, Freddy Got Fingered is punishing to sit through, but it would take a cynic not to laugh, as Tom Green’s effort to shock you is perversely endearing. Most totemic commercial and critical flops share the commonality of a singular voice being allowed to realize their vision, but they are just ahead of their time. Freddy Got Fingered distills all of Green’s interests to a tee, and his brand of surrealist humor in the everyday world paved the way for Jackass and Eric Andre.

Like any noteworthy, groundbreaking, avant-garde work of art, Freddy Got Fingered, which breaks all the rules and conventions of what makes a quality film, needed to age to be appreciated. No one is arguing that Tom Green’s film is secretly deep and nuanced, but its blatant irreverence undoubtedly packs a strange source of unyielding magic. You can simultaneously adore and detest the movie, which is a beautiful thing.

Freddy Got Fingered is now available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

Freddy Got Fingered

Release Date

April 20, 2001

Runtime

87 minutes

Director

Tom Green

Writers

Tom Green, Derek Harvie

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